Stove



B. B. KAHN Sept. 5, 1939.

STOVE Filed Sept. 23, 1935 Patented Sept. 5, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE STOVE corporation of Ohio Application September 23, 1935, SerialNo. 41,694

8 Claims.

This invention relates to stoves.

Various more or less complicated constructions have heretofore beenresorted to in avoidving the hazards incidental to exposed and freelyaccessible valve handles on stoves. The usual remedial method` involvesthe use of some form of closure which'is movable to a position in whichthe valve handles are concealed so that they may not be accidentallymoved.

Such devices, even in their simplest form, represent an appreciable itemof expense in the cost of a stove, and are additionally objectionable inthat unless the construction is complicated to a degree that the closuremember may move to a concealed position during intervals that the stoveis in service the closure stands as an obstruction to the convenient useof the stove. Further complications obtain in that in stovesincorporation such constructions the handles are concealed during theinterval that the stove is not in service and this in turn introducesthe need of providing such closure devices with means to preventmovement to the closed position unless the valve handles are in the offposition, or the provision of mechanism such that the valves areautomatically closed by movement of the closure member to valveconcealing position. Another purpose of such devices is to improve theappearance of the stove structure by concealing the projecting valveparts when the stove is out of service.

Although such devices perform the functions intended, there areobjections to their use because they represent a material item in thecost of the stove, their use necessitates a manual act in order to makethe handles accessible for operation, and they are usually cumbersomeand unwieldy.

This invention contemplates a simple arrangement in a stove affordingall of the advantages of the usual closure structure at but a fractionof the cost of such devices and incorporating additional advantages inthat the valve handles are always exposed and freely accessible. Anadditional advantage obtains in that the part of the stove structurethat cooperates with the valve handles has further utility. It istherefore one of the principal objects of the invention to providesimple and effective means in a stove for promoting safe operation andinvolving a cooperating interfltting relationship between an exposed andfreely accessible fuel control handle and a housing portion of thestove.

Another object of the invention is the provision in a stove of anexposed and accessible fuel control handlewhich normally stands withinthe confines of an opening in a housing portion of the stove; theopening being of such contour as to prevent unintentional displacementof the handle.

A further object of the invention is the provision in such a stove of acontrol handle having an operating range of travel for performing itsnormal function of control and having an additional range cf movementincluding a position in which the handlestands flush with a housingportion of lthe stove and within the confines of an opening in thehousing portion. l Other objects and advantages of the invention willbeapparent from the following description, the accompanying drawing andthe appended claims. v

In the drawing, which discloses a preferred embodiment of the invention,

Fig. l is an elevational View of a stove constructed in accordance withthe present invention;

Fig- 2 is a fragmentary sectional view as indicated by the line 2-2 ofFig. 1;

Fig- 3 is a fragmentary sectional View taken similarly to Fig. 2 andshowing the valve operating handle in the position of use;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary elevational view showing a modified form of theinvention; l

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view as indicated by the line 5-5 ofFig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a furthermodication ofthe valve handle structure.

Referring now to the drawing, in which like characters of referencedesignate like parts throughout the several views thereof, there isillustrated a stove having a cooking top Ill which overlies acompartment II having a bottom wall I 2. The compartment II serves as ahousing for the cooking top burners of which one is shown and isdesignated by the numeral I3. The burner I3 has a control valve I4communicating with a fuel supply manifold I5 which is shown as extendingWithin the compartment and which serves all of the cooking top burners.These burners, which may be arranged in any desired positioning, arepreferably so related that the valves therefor stand in alignment withthe valve stems and handles similarly related. A drip pan I6 is providedwithin the compartment. It rests on the compartment wall I2 and standsbeneath the cooking top burners.

The burner valve I4 has a rotatable operating stem i8 which is shownextending horizontally toward the front face of the stove andterminating at substantially the plane of a closure member 2!! whichserves as a housing portion for the compartment H. As the burnerarrangement, described briey above, follows conventional practice it isthought that a clear understanding of the invention may be had withoutillustrating all of the burners and by giving the valve handles for thediiferent burners a common designating numeral 22.

The handle 22 that controls the supply of fuel to the burner i3 ismo-vably attached to the valve stem i8 so that it has a range ofmovement in addition to the operating range of travel. As shown, thehandle 22 is pivotally attached as indicated at 23 so that the valvehandle may swing on an axis perpendicularly related to the axis ofrotation of the valve stern. The handle, as shown, is of the pendanttype in that the portion depending from the point of attachment to thestem is of greater length than the portion projecting upwardly from thispart of the handle. Also, in the form of handle illustrated the width isincreased somewhat adjacent the point of attachment to the stem and, asshown, this portion of the handle is of generally circular contour.

The arrangement of the valve and the handle is such that the handlestands vertically in the off position of the valve and swings upon ahorizontal axis during movement through the operating range of travel.The additional range of movement aiorded by the pivotal connection ofthe handle to the stem is such that the handle may stand perpendicularlyto the stem axis and may be moved to an inclined position with respectto the stem axis. It is this latter movement which provides for aninterlocking relationship with the closure member 20 whereby accidentalvalve movement is prevented.

The closure member 20, which is preferably constructed of sheet metal,extends for substantially the full depth of the compartment Il and issupported in such manner that it may readily swing to an open positionto afford access to the interior of the compartment. As shown, the upperportion of the closure member 20 has a reverse bend as indicated at 24for attachment to a similarly formed part 25 of the stove structure.

' The interrlt of these parts is such that the member 2i] may bepivotally swung outwardly from its normal vertical position forinspection or removal of the burners and for withdrawal of the drip pan.The member 20 has openings 26 therein corresponding in positioning tothe handles for the cooking top burner valves and having coniigurationcorresponding to the contour of said valve handles. The member 20 andhandles v22 have a related positioning such that when the handles are inthe off position and are standing in perpendicular relationship to thevalve stems they lie in the plane of the member 2D so that the handlesare confined within the openings 26 of the housing member. Further, whenin this position the faces of the handlesare substantially iiush withthe face of the housing member.

Such a relationship of parts permits the construction of a stove whereinthe housing portion adjacent the cooking top burners may have a smoothand pleasing appearance. This desirable characteristic exists in aconstruction having the further advantage of handles that arecontinually exposed and freely accessible thus eliminating the need forthe operator to perform a manual act in order to render the valvehandles accessible for use. Although the handles in their normalposition are prevented from being accidentally displaced due to the factthat they stand within the coniines of the housing openings whichclosely follow the conguration of the handles, they are readily actuatedby merely moving the handles to an inclined position in which they maybe turned through the operating range of travel.

To actuate a valve the operator merely pushes inwardly on the upperportion of the handle which causes the lower or actuating part to moveoutwardly to a position in which it may be readily grasped for controlof the burner. As soon as the handle moves away from its normal closedposition the upper handle portion 21 underlies the housing member 20 sothat the handle is retained in the inclined position of use untilreturned to the oir position wherein it may move to a ush relationshipwith the housing member 20.

To facilitate operation of the handle'and to maintain it during itsoperating range of travel at an angle in which it may be readilygrasped, means may be provided to maintain the angular relationship ofhandle to stem. As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the rearward side of themember 20 is provided with a curved cam member 29 that lies within thepath of movement traversed by the upper portion 21 of the handle. Oneend of the cam terminates in an inclined portion 30 closely adjacent themember opening 25 so that upon moving the handle to the inclinedoperating position and upon starting the handle movement through itsoperating range of travel the cam will engage and will hold the upperportion of the handle depressed so that the lower operating portionremains in an accessible operating position.

If desired, means may be provided to yieldingly hold the handle both inits perpendicular position as well as in the position occupied duringthe operating range of travel. As shown in Fig. 6, a valve stem I8 maybe provided having a rounded end portion 32 provided with spaced detentnotches 33 and 34 for reception of a spring pressed ball 35 which standswithin a recess 36 of the handle 22 and is urged toward detentengagement by a spring 31.. The detent notches 33 and 34 correspond inpositioning to the two angular positionings of the handle. The detentstructure therefore serves as a simple means of yieldingly maintainingthe handle in either of its positions.

In order to further carry out the pleasing smooth and unbrokenappearance of the stove front the stove structure is arranged so thatthe housing member 2U which serves as a closure for the compartmentfront may be readily moved to expose the interior of the compartmentWithout resorting to an exposed handle. In the illustrated embodiment ofthe invention an oven is provided beneath the burner compartment havinga door 4I which is arranged to swing downwardly from a closed positionin which the upper portion of the door closes againstthe compartmentbottom wall I2. 'I'he compartment wall I2 along its front edge andadjacent the midportion of the compartment is provided with a notch 42through which the operator may reach to pull forwardly on the housingmember 20. To retain the member 20 in its normal closed positionsuitable latching means of any desired character may be provided. Asshown, spring ngers 44 are provided at each side of the member 2Uadjacent the lower edgethereof and are arranged to engage the stovestructure to frictionally retain the member in the position of use.

Through utilization of the construction described simple means areafforded having the desirable safety characteristics which preventunintentional valve actuation Without resorting to the cumbersome andexpensive structures heretofore used, While retaining all of theadvantages of such structures in that a smooth and pleasing frontalappearance obtains with the additional advantage of having the valvehandles alvvaysI exposed and freely accessible. Such an arrangementlikewise affords ready access to the burner compartment in that at timeswhen the burner handles are in the off position the simple sheet metalhousing member Which functions in interlocking relationship with thehandles may be readily lifted to expose the interior of the compartmentas for the withdrawal of the burners or the drip pan.

W'hile the form of apparatus herein described constitutes a preferredembodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the inventionis not limited to this precise form of apparatus, and that changes maybe made therein without departing from the scope of the invention whichis dened in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. In a stove, a fuel valve, and a rotatable valve handle thereforhaving a non-circular contour and having a valve operating movement, ahousing Wall having a handle receiving opening, said Wall beingpositioned so that the handle stands normally within the opening and inflush relationship with the Wall, the Wall opening being shaped to thecontour of the handle and to close- 1y receive the handle to normallyprevent operating movement of the handle, said handle being movable fromflush relationship in a different direction than that of the operatingmovement to a position out of flush relationship with the Wall in whichvalve operating movement is permitted.

2. In a stove, a fuel control comprising a rotatable valve stem and anoperating handle therefor having a non-circular contour and having anoperating range of travel, means pivotally connecting the handle to thevalve stem for movement of the valve stem and for pivotal movement ofthe handle on the stem on an axis perpendicularly related to the axis ofrotation of the valve stem, a housing member having an opening shapedtothe configuration of said handle and adapted in one position of thehandle to closely receive the handle Within the connes of the housingopening to restrain movement in the operating range of travel, thehandle and housing cooperating to prevent valve movement When the flushrelationship exists and permitting valve movement upon pivotal movementof the handle from flush relationship.

3. In a stove, a fuel control comprising a rotatable valve stem, a valvestem handle rotatable therewith and having a non-circular contour, ahousing member having an opening shaped to the conguration of saidhandle adapted to close-.

ly receive said handle in flush relationship, means pivotally attachingthe handle intermediate its ends to the valve stem adjacent the stem endfor swinging movement in a direction perpendicular to the axis ofrotation of the stem from a position in which the handle stands withinthe ccnines of the member opening and is restrained in the operatingrange of travel to a position inclined with respect to the member andaffording free movement in the operating range of travel.

4. In a stove having a pivotally mounted housing Wall Which normallyassumes an upright position, a rotatable and tiltab-le fuel valvehandle, a valve operated by rotational movement of said handle, said'housing wall having an opening normally receiving said handlesubstantially flush with said Wall when the handle is in valve offposition, the opening and handle having similar non-circular form andinterlocking in the normal inoperative position of the handle so thattilting movement of the handle from its normal position is requiredbefore it can be rotated to control the valve, said handle when movedfrom valve oiT position to valve on position interlocking with thehousing Wall to prevent pivotal movement of the housing Wall from itsnormal upright position.

5. In a stove, a fuel control comprising a valve handle rotatable aboutan axis during control movement and rockable to a tilted operatingposition with respect to said axis, said handle having a lengthexceeding its Width and simulating a bar-like form, a valve stempivotally connecting to said handle on an axis extending transversely ofthe long dimension of the handle and affording an elongated portion atone side of the pivot axis that may be readily grasped when the handleis in its tilted position, a housing member having an opening thereinsubstantially corresponding in configuration to the contour of thehandle and positioned to receive the handle in one position to restrainmovement thereof about said axis, said handle when rocked to its tiltedposition being inclined With respect to said member and unrestrainedthereby, and means to hold the valve handle in its tilted position.

6. In a stove, a fuel control comprising a valve handle of non-circularcontour rotatable through an operating range of travel and rockable to atilted position with respect to its axis of rotation, a panel having anon-circular opening therein for intertting reception of the handle inone position to restrain movement thereof in the operating range oftravel, said handle being movable through the operating range of travelwhen rocked to its tilted position with respect to the panel, and meansto yieldably hold the handle in the position in which operating travelis restrained and to also yieldingly hold the handle in its tiltedposition.

7. In a stove having a burner, a burner valve, and a burner compartmentin which the burner and burner valve are located, a rockable front panelfor said compartment movable from a normal upright position to an openposition for access to the compartment from the front thereof, a valvecontrol pendant handle rotatable from a normal valve olf position aboutan axis perpendicular lto the normal position of the panel to controlthev burner valve, said panel having an opening therein conforming inshape to the handle and adapted to interlock With the handle in oneposition in which movement of the handie about said axis is prevented,said handle being operable in a different direction than about said axisto a position released from its said interlock with the panel so thatwhen the handle isv turned from its normal valve olf position it Willhold the panel against rocking movement from its no-rmal uprightposition.

8. In a stove having burners, a series of burner valves, and a. burnercompartment in which the burners and burner valves are located, a

close fitting relationship vin one position of the panel in'whichmovementsI vof the handles about their said axes are prevented, saidhandles being individually movable in a different direction than thatVof the operating movements thereof to release the same from theirclose-fitting relationship with the panel, said handles and panelinterlocking to prevent opening movement of the panel when a handle isturned about its said axis from its normal position.

BERTRAND B. KAI-IN.

